The AP preseason rankings dropped this week for the 2024-25 college basketball season. All the usual powerhouses found themselves near the top. Kansas, UConn, Gonzaga and Duke were all ranked in the top 10. However, Illinois was left off the preseason rankings for the first time since the 2018-19 season. This leads to the question — do preseason rankings even matter?

UConn, the reigning national champion, was ranked in the preseason before the 2023-24 season. However, they were not ranked coming into the 2022-23 season. That was the lowest preseason ranking of the team that would end up winning the national title since UConn in the 2013-14 season. They were ranked No. 18 in the preseason poll that season. 

In fact, in the last 17 years, the only team to win the national championship and not be ranked in the preseason is UConn, who had it happen three different times. It happened once before, in the 2010-11 season. Besides those UConn teams, every national champion of the last 10 years was ranked in the top 25, and most of them were ranked in the top six. 

Since 2000, only four teams who won the national championship were unranked in the preseason. Besides the UConn teams, 2006 Florida and 2003 Syracuse were the only ones to be unranked in the preseason and win the national championship. 

In last year’s Final Four, one of four teams (NC State) was unranked in the preseason. In 2022-23, three of the four Final Four teams were unranked coming into the season. San Diego St. was the only preseason-ranked team in the Final Four. 

So, what does all this mean? Do the preseason rankings mean nothing? Or is UConn just a powerhouse that overcomes every bad ranking and obstacle? It seems like it might just be a bit of both. UConn is obviously a very good basketball school and is consistently a top team come March. 

Of course, it is a pretty tough task for an unranked team coming into the season to win a national championship. It is such a rare feat that only four teams have managed it since 2000. While history shows that it isn’t impossible, it sure isn’t easy. Of course, making the Final Four is a huge achievement, and plenty of unranked teams coming into the season have made the Final Four. Especially in recent memory, it seems to be easier to disregard preseason rankings. 

Based on just the past 10 years, it would not be crazy to say that preseason rankings aren’t very meaningful. Two national champions weren’t ranked, and many Final Four teams weren’t either. March Madness is known for its craziness, so why would preseason rankings mean very much when it gets down to the wire? 

Rankings didn’t matter when Kris Jenkins nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer to win the national championship. Rankings didn’t matter when Gordon Hayward’s last-second half-court shot rimmed out and Duke held on to win the national championship. 

When it comes down to it, a team is good if a team is good. The rankings just reflect who looks the best at that time. Illinois has a great team on paper, with five-star freshman Will Riley coming in and a top-20 transfer class, according to 247 Sports. And if the past few years under Brad Underwood have proved anything, it’s that his teams play hard, unselfish ball. Pair that with the talent he has and this Illinois team won’t be unranked for long.

@Ben_some16

[email protected]